Pokeshipping Week 2016
by swimming-toon-lover
Summary: It's that time again folks! Pokeshipping week 2016!
1. Chapter 1

Hi there, and welcome yet again to Pokeshipping week! Last year went amazing, and I love this week so much. I love how it makes me write, and truth be told, this couldn't have come at a better time. As is my way, I managed to put this off, and of course only just finished this a few minutes ago, so I'm not SUPER happy with it, but rest assured friends! Because as is very much NOT my way, I actually already have the rest of the week done!

So without further ado, here is pokeshipping week 2016

Day 1- Alola

He immediately thought of her.

Nothing screamed "Misty" quite like Alola. The islands were warm and beautiful, and from what Ash had been told, water Pokémon here weren't just important, they were essential.

She probably would have loved it.

It had actually been quite awhile, longer than Ash would care to admit, since his first real friend had crossed his mind. But as he walked along, out of the airport and towards the school he had decided on a whim to attend, he could think of little else. It wasn't "I wonder what my classes will be like" or "What new pokemon will I meet here." it was "Hey, Misty would love that flower" and "Misty would definitely enter that water race."

By the time Ash arrived at the school, the guilt was eating at him so hard he didn't even bother to check in before he found the phone bank and typed in the number he was pleased to still have memorized.

"Cerulean City Gym, like, Daisy speaking!" Ash tried to not look as disappointed as he felt.

"Uh, hey...Daisy. Is Misty around?" Daisy's wide grin fell, and she leaned forward, as if she couldn't be sure of what she was seeing.

"Aren't you that kid?" she asked. Ash frowned.

"Uh…maybe?" he said. Daisy straightened back up.

"Misty's little boyfriend, right? Uh...what was it?"

"Ash." he said, choosing to ignore the first part of the question.

"Yeah! Well, I'm sorry, but Misty isn't here. She'll be gone for a few months actually. Left us here all on our own, just so she could go on some tropical vacation." Daisy complained. Ash's stomach sank.

"Oh. Well, I guess, it'll be awhile, but still, tell her I called, okay?" he said. Daisy's gaze softened into sympathy.

"Uh, sure. No problem. Sorry." she genuinely looked it, and Ash was more confused than anything.

"Yeah, well, see you later, then." he said, feeling more awkward by the second as Daisy looked at him like that. He hung up before she could say anything else.

"Well buddy," he began, looking at Pikachu on his shoulder, "guess we should get checked in for our own tropical vacation, huh?"

"Pika!" he agreed.

"One of the hallmarks of our program here is the guest instructor line up."

Ash had long since zoned out at the school orientation. He was starting to seriously question what it was he had been thinking, signing up for school. He had been hoping that maybe it wouldn't be so bad, being behind a desk, as long as he also got the practical lessons he had been promised. But after two hours of the droning voice of the headmaster going over details of schedules and class syllabi, he was losing it.

"As water pokemon are so important to our livelihood here in Alola, we thought it best to begin with our expert in that type."

At this mention, Ash's interest piqued, if only slightly, before his thoughts devolved back into Misty. He had been trying very hard not to think about her off on her tropical vacation. She kept picturing her on some beach he was sure he'd seen before, battling some guy he almost remembered, and he wasn't happy about how happy she was, even if it was just his imagination.

"Pikachupi!" Pikachu hissed from his perch on Ash's lap. Strictly speaking, Pokemon weren't supposed to be in the lecture room, but Ash wasn't about to leave Pikachu behind, and no one had said anything yet. Ash looked down at his partner.

"I know Pikachu, I tried." Ash whispered back. Pikachu shot him deadpan look before leaping up onto the desk.

"Whoa, hey, Pikachu, you can't…"

"Pikachupi!" Pikachu said again, pointing. Ash followed, and then he forgot what was happening. He couldn't possibly be seeing what he thought he was. He had to still be asleep. The time difference was messing with him.

There was no way he was staring at Misty Waterflower at the front of his class. There was no way she was staring back, looking for all the world like she'd just seen a ghost.

"Ash Ketchum! We looked the other way when your pikachu stayed out of sight, but now you are directly disrupting-"

"It's okay!" the girl who could not be Misty said. "I was done anyway." Pikachu twitched like he was going to jump off the desk, but Ash, at the very least, had the presence of mind to grab him.

"Sorry." he mumbled. The headmaster didn't look placated, but the no way she was Misty seemed to have the final say in the matter.

"Right, well, we'll leave it here for now. See you all on the beach after lunch." The headmaster said. The rest of the class shuffled out, chatting amongst themselves. Ash sat frozen. Pikachu poked him on the cheek, but he ignored him.

"Piiika." he whined. When Ash still didn't answer, Pikachu shook his head, and took off.

"Pikachupi!" he yelled as he went. The Misty had to be on a different continent so who was this chick, blinked at him, but Pikachu didn't wait, jumping up at her, forcing her to catch him.

"Pikachu?" she asked.

"Pika!" he confirmed. Her face broke into a grin, but it melted away again as her eyes found Ash.

"Ash?" she asked.

Those eyes. All blue and green and too much of either to really be defined, and definitely all Misty.

"What are you doing here?" The said at the same time. Ash felt his face flush, and noticed as hers did the same. He stood up, and tried to walk toward her, only to promptly fall over his desk. Pikachu didn't hold back, but Misty at least had the decency to hide her laugh behind her hand.

"Graceful." she sniggered. Ash frowned up at her before sliding up and sitting cross legged.

"You surprised me." He grumped. Misty laughed again, then held out a hand. Ash ignored it and stood on his own, earning a frown.

"Yeah, well, so did you. Don't see me on the floor." she huffed. Ash glared.

"You didn't have to move." he shot back. Misty rolled her eyes.

"I ask you again. What are you doing here?" she pressed. "This is basically the last place I would ever have expected to see you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked, crossing his arms angrily. Misty simply grinned, irking him more.

"I dunno, the idea of you staying in one place for so long? I mean, I know we're going to be travelling around for lessons, but you get the point." Ash felt his mouth fall open.

"That's...I…" he wasn't sure what to say. Something logical, and borderline nice...was not what he'd been expecting here.

"Wha-what about you?" he stammered. Misty laughed.

"They called me about an serving as an expert trainer, how was I gonna turn that down?"

"Plus this place has 'Misty' written all over it." Ash added, not even realizing he had spoken until he watched the blush rising in her face.

"I, well...yeah, that too." She said softly.

They stood there for a few minutes, staring.

"So...school." Ash finally managed. "You're my teacher again." Misty looked surprised at first, then smiled.

"Hey, I guess that's true, huh?" Her smile then morphed into something a little more sinister.

"Of course, this time I actually have control over whether you pass or fail. I have control of your future! Mwahaha!" Ash narrowed his eyes at her.

"I will report you." he said. She smirked.

"Relax Ash, I'm kidding." but then her expression turned serious. "But I'm not going easy on you." Ash smiled.

"I'd expect nothing less Mist." Her smirk slid into a smile.

"I missed that." she said. Ash's brow furrowed.

"What?"

The mischief in her eye worried Ash.

"Maybe I'll tell you later." She said. Ash must've looked as bewildered as he felt, because she giggled. "Hey, we should better go grab some lunch. We've got a big afternoon. Trust me." She winked, and Ash grinned again.

"You sure it's okay for you to be hanging out with your students?" He teased. Misty pretended to consider this.

"Maybe we just shouldn't make a habit of it." she said. "Besides, pretty soon you'll have a whole bunch of friends to sit with. You won't need me."

"I'll always need you. You're my _best_ friend."

She blinked at him, clearly at a loss. Ash smiled at his win.

"Pikachupi?" the pokemon in her arms brought her back.

"Wow. Uh, thanks, Ash." she said. Ash couldn't be sure which of them moved, but suddenly they were a step closer together. "When did you get so serious?" Ash smiled, but then…

He had never hated his stomach more. He was forced to take a step back as Misty doubled over in laughter.

"But...I guess…" she wheezed, "it's nice...to know some things will never change." Ash rolled his eyes as she pretended to wipe a tear from hers. She composed herself and took a steadying breath.

"C'mon." she said, turning away from him and starting out the door. "I know where we can get a really nice cheeseburger." She winked at him again over her shoulder, and though it took him a moment, he suddenly remembered the argument. Ash shook his head, and started after her, smiling widely.

This was going to be a great semester.


	2. If Tracey Never Joined

So, honestly, I wanted to go dark with this. I honestly think that without Tracey, Ash and Misty would have ripped themselves apart during the Orange Islands arc. They had no idea what was going on with themselves or their feelings during that time, and I think without Tracey there to diffuse and/or unite them, their friendship may not have survived their stubborn denial.

BUT

After what we all just went through last week, I didn't want to include any angst this week, much as I love it. After last week, I feel like we need to keep THIS week as upbeat as possible. So instead of the angst ridden fight fest I had planned, I decided to go a slightly different direction with this…it gets a little all over the place, but I'm still alright with it (gets a little long too…whoops)

Day 2- If Tracey never joined

Brock was done.

When he'd chosen to stay behind at Professor Ivy's lab, it was because he'd decided that the struggling group needed him more than Ash and Misty. Of course, that was also when he'd thought that Ash and Misty were going straight back to Kanto.

Imagine his surprise at the first phone call.

"Brock! You need to give Misty cooking lessons!" Ash had complained. "She's going to kill me!"

"Who says I'm the one that has to learn to cook mister?!" Misty had shouted back.

It had only gotten worse from there.

"Please tell Ash that he can't just run around trying to pet every Pokémon he sees!"

"But Misty, it was _pink_!"

"Brock, you should have seen it! I almost fell completely off the mountain, and she didn't even care!"

"Why can't he just grow up and realize that it's not a crime to be prepared?"

"What happens when you get kissed? Why won't she just tell me?!"

"Why do people keep telling us that we're in love?!"

(That had been a personal favorite)

But the last call had been more worrying and less amusing. Ash had called to complain that Misty had simply left him at the Pokémon center on Mandarin Island.

"And normally I wouldn't care, but, she's never been gone this long before."

Brock had decided it was time. Ivy and her assistants were doing well enough now, and it was really starting to seem that, left to their own devices, Ash and Misty were either literally going to kill each other, or end up actually falling in love, and at this point, he wasn't sure which was worse. Because there was quite possibly nothing more dangerous than stubborn 12 year olds who would sooner end their friendship than admit they might care about each other.

He had just finished packing when the phone rang. Predictably, it was Ash. Unpredictably however, he didn't seem mad. Upset, most definitely, but not mad.

"What's up, Ash? Another fight?" Ash frowned, then shook his head.

"We made it to Trovita Island." he started. "Misty saved some girl as we were pulling in, and she turned out to be the gym leader's sister."

Brock had no idea why this might make Ash look as annoyed as he did, so he waited.

"As soon as we landed he was all over her. Thanking her, and giving her flowers, and saying stupid stuff." Brock bit his lip, now much more aware of where this was going, but not wanting to derail his young friend.

"So I get in there and tell him, 'hey, we're not here for you to flirt, we're here for me to win a badge.' And he just gives me this look, like, he can't believe I would speak to him, and he freaking asks Misty if I'm her boyfriend… _again."_

Brock couldn't stop his chuckle that time, earning a fierce glare.

"It's not funny!" he snapped. "I don't know why people insist that a boy and a girl traveling together have to be in love. It's stupid." Brock chose not to dignify this with a response, and Ash plowed on.

"Anyway, he finally agrees to my challenge after Misty gets all, 'oh, ew, never' which, by the way, also not cool." He shot Brock a preemptive glare, and Brock held up his hands in resignation. "But then he ignored me during the whole test! All he did was flirt more! And then I accidentally brought out Charizard, and he sorta flamethrowered her head." he mumbled. Brock raised an eyebrow, but didn't interrupt.

"So we get back to the gym, and what does he do? He invites her to dinner! Without me! She's off who knows where with him doing who knows what, and I'm just here, trying to get ready for my battle, alone." Brock waited a moment, to see if Ash would continue. We it didn't seem he would, he began.

"Why does this bother you so much?" he asked. "Yesterday you were ready to leave her behind anyway."

Ash flinched.

"It-it's not about her, I just don't like being ignored. Rudi is a gym leader, and I'm his challenger, he should be focused on battling me, not flirting. And Misty, who keeps saying she's supposed to be my coach…she just leaves me all alone to prepare? What is that about? Her just ditching me for some guy…"

"Are you sure you're not just jealous?"

All of the color drained from Ash's face.

"Wh-wha- I…phft, no, of course not! What's there to be jealous of? Rudi's not so cool, and it's not like…I don't…and we…pfft, what?"

Brock couldn't help his smirk. Ash blushed, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, like I said Brock-o, I've got a big battle tomorrow, and I need to get ready, and sleep and stuff, and yeah. Uh, I'll let you know how it goes, okay? Bye!"

He didn't give Brock the chance to answer before the screen went black. He stood there for a few moments, letting whatever Ash had just said sink in all the way. Finally he smiled to himself, and laughed. He turned, intending to finish preparing to head out, but he didn't get two steps away before the phone began ringing again.

"Well that was fast." he muttered to himself, turning back around. He had been expecting to see Ash's face again, and was therefore taken aback when it was Misty on the screen.

"Should I stay here?"

She said it so fast that Brock almost didn't catch it.

"Stay…what?" he asked. Misty bit her lip and looked off to the side. She was in a different room than Ash had been, and, Brock assumed, alone.

"So…we got to Trovita Island today…"

Brock sat quietly, listening to Misty recount the events of the day from her own perspective, careful to react appropriately so as to not give away that he'd already heard this story.

"And then, he asked me to dance at dinner. We were having tons of fun, you know, but then he just, spins me around, and asks me…asks me to stay here with him. Like, permanently."

She still wasn't looking at him, but if she was she would have seen his look of utter confusion.

"Do you want to stay?" He asked. Misty shrugged.

"I don't know, that's why I called you. I don't know what to do." She chewed on her bottom lip, and Brock realized that he was going to have to take the lead here.

"Why would you stay?" he prompted. Misty continued her chewing for a few more minutes.

"I mean, it's an island paradise. It's the perfect place to train water types…and well…"

"What about Ash?" he asked. Her look of confusion abrubtly turned heated.

"What about him?" She snapped. "All we've done since you left is fight! Our whole relationship started with a fight, and even when you were here we fought all the time. I just never realized how much you did to calm us down." Brock couldn't help but laugh.

"I did not." he said. Misty raised an accusatory eyebrow at him. "Really, Misty, I didn't. I stopped trying to get in between you two a long time ago. You guys had actually been working it out on your own for awhile." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, clearly we lost our touch. I've been wondering a lot lately if we're even really friends at all, or if we've just stuck together this long because we just got used to it."

Her voice was a whisper now, and Brock could feel all of his brotherly instincts rising up. He could tell her about the talk he'd just had with Ash. About how upset Ash was that she'd left him in Trovita City, how hurt he'd appeared when she'd left him to prepare for his battle alone.

But he couldn't do that. He couldn't tell her something Ash had specifically wanted her not to know.

Then again…

"That's just stupid." He said, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Excuse me?" she demanded.

"You two aren't just friends, you are best friends." she scoffed, but Brock pressed on. "Trust me, Misty, I was there. And, as much as I hadn't intended to be, I may as well still be there with as much as you two call me. And I can tell you one thing for sure, you haven't been getting worse, you've been getting closer."

"Oh please." She huffed, and Brock raised his eyebrows.

"I mean it Misty. But, okay, look, I'm not going to try and tell you how to feel. I'm just going to ask that you think about this. Really think. Are you ready to walk away from Ash after all this time? Walk away from a guy who truly cares about you, and what you think of him, for a guy you just met who just happens to live in a pretty place?"

"He doesn't just live in a pretty place. He's nice too." Misty said, though she didn't sound entirely convinced herself. Brock smiled.

"Just, sleep on it, okay? Don't decide anything until after the battle tomorrow." Misty chuckled.

"That's almost exactly what Rudi said."

"Well, maybe this guy isn't all that bad then." Brock said, hoping Misty could pick up on his teasing, but worried by the expression on her face that maybe she hadn't.

"Ash…really said he cares about me?" she asked after a few moments. Brock nodded.

"I had better get some sleep, and let you do the same." she said. Again, Brock only smiled.

"Goodnight Misty."

"Night, Brock."

Misty supposed she probably shouldn't be surprised when there was no sign of Ash when she arrived at her bunk. After all, she'd just spent the entire day insisting that they weren't an item, so why would Rudi make any effort to have them stay together?

She almost didn't go to the battle.

Sleep had largely eluded her, and as much as she'd wanted to call Brock back and force him to listen to her reason out her decision, she'd known there wouldn't have been a point. She had gone back and forth in her mind a million times. Sure Rudi seemed sweet, and obviously cared about her a great deal, but how much of that was just a reaction to her saving Mahri? And hadn't Brock been right? Hadn't she only known him for all of one day? But then again, she could always leave later if it didn't pan out.

But then there was Ash.

Ash, who had always driven her crazy, but had spent the last few months making her absolutely insane. The bickering and fighting had actually been fun, back when Brock was with them and it had all mostly been teasing. She knew neither of them really meant it then, but now? Their fights had gotten nastier and nastier, from the second Team Rocket had called them love birds when they'd found the pair of them without Brock. It seemed like the more people accused them of having crushes, the worse it got. Was the idea of liking her really that horrible? Would it really be so bad if she were to like him?

What if they really were on a path to ending their friendship, because they couldn't take the teasing of people who hardly even knew them? Wouldn't it be easier to get out now?

She hadn't noticed until she saw Mahri, running at her and waving happily, that she'd been making her way to the battle arena.

Ash was going to lose.

He was all over the place, and even though he'd managed to even the score, his squirtle was in serious trouble from Starmie's electric attacks.

"My brother is going to win!" Mahri cheered from her right. Misty frowned.

That just wouldn't do.

"Ash, what are you going to do, just stand there and let him beat you!"

She wasn't even sure what made her say it. She hadn't planned it, but in that moment, as she watched squirtle struggling, she knew who she wanted to win. Her gut, or maybe her heart, she couldn't be sure, was telling her to go with Ash.

"Misty?"

She couldn't hear him from her perch in the balloon, but she had seen him look up, seen his lips move, and she knew.

"C'mon Ash! You're the only one who can bring out Squirtle's real power!" She shouted, ignoring the betrayal on Mahri's face.

"I know that! I'm not stupid!" he shouted up at her, glaring. Misty rolled her eyes.

"Then don't just stand there, do something! You already beat Rudi once, you can beat him again!"

Ash turned away from her then, setting his focused gaze on the field. Her stomach clenched as she watched, squirtle flying off the rocks, returning full force, and finally.

Ash won. The battle, that was.

"Misty, I know you've already made your decision. But, these are for you." Misty blushed as Rudi pushed one more bouquet of roses into her hands. Misty blinked at him, unsure at first, before sighing, and accepting the gift.

"Thanks Rudi." she said softly. She didn't have time to think too hard on the matter though, because Rudi turned immediately to Ash.

"I hope you know, you're a very lucky guy Ash." He said. Misty's cheeks instantly flamed, but Ash didn't seem to be on the same page.

"Lucky? What do you mean?"

Rudi only laughed.

"You'll see someday."

They didn't say another word as they turned and climbed onto Lapras. It wasn't until they were well out to sea that Ash finally broke the silence.

"What did Rudi mean?" he asked. Misty didn't look at him, choosing instead to stare into her flowers.

"About what?" she hedged. Ash huffed, and crossed his arms.

"That you'd made your decision." he said. This hadn't been what she'd expected him to want clarification on, and she looked up in surprise.

"That's what you want to know?" she spluttered. Ash simply raised an eyebrow, waiting. She looked away again, focusing on the water.

"He…wanted me to stay there…with him." She said, so quietly that she wasn't even sure she'd actually spoken until Ash replied with an equally faint,

"Oh." They were silent again, the only sound that of the ocean around them. No one else (save for Pikachu, Lapras, and Togepi) around. No one to tease them, or accuse them of anything, or put in their two cents.

"I almost did." She peaked over at him from the corner of her eye. He was staring at her, and so she looked up.

"Why didn't you?" he asked. Misty frowned. "I thought you would have jumped at the chance to ditch me."

She wanted to be mad at that statement, she really did, but he didn't sound like he was being mean, or teasing, he actually sounded like he genuinely thought she'd wanted to be rid of him.

"Well, like I said, I almost did." she turned to him and made sure to catch his gaze. "But…when it came down to it, I knew I had to choose my best friend, and not some show off who thought he could flatter me into liking him." She tried for a smile, and though it took awhile, Ash returned it.

"Yeah, I mean, obviously flattery doesn't work on you." Ash joked. Misty frowned.

"Doesn't mean that it would kill you to be a little nicer." she said. Ash frowned too.

"Well hey, treat others as you want to be treated Mist." he replied. Misty puffed her cheeks out in anger.

"I'm nice!" she said. "Most of the time." she added as Ash shot her an incredulous look. They stared at each other then, more glare than gaze, until finally, they both broke into wide grins, and began to laugh.

"Oh, Ash…I truly don't know what I would do without you." she said, trying to catch her breath.

"Yeah, me either. Without you, I mean." he said. They fell into comfortable silence then, and after a few moments they lay back as best they could on Lapras' shell, content to gaze at the sinking sun.

"Hey, Mist?" Ash asked after the sun was almost gone.

"Hmmm?" she prompted.

"I'm really glad you chose me."

"Me too Ash," she said, picking out the first twinkling star in the near darkness. "Me too."


	3. Getting Along With Each Other's Pokemon

So this doesn't so much involve "each other's" Pokémon as just Pikachu (I know, I know, obvious) but I have always absolutely adored this particular idea, so I kept the scope that narrow. Also, it's much, _much_ shorter than the others, but I like to think that it's because short and sweet go together.

Day 3- Getting along with each other's Pokémon

The two of them had always been close.

Ash had sort of taken it for granted, even if it had bothered him at first. After all, he was really young, but he'd soon learned it was normal for friends to bond with each other's Pokémon. In fact, it hadn't been until he was about to battle Misty for the first time since they'd spilt up (almost 6 years after the last time) and he had automatically assumed that Pikachu would refuse to battle her again that he realized he'd never done that with anyone else. Sure, a number of his friends had used Pikachu in their own battles, and he'd agreed to listen to them just as well as he did Ash, but he had never flat out refused to battle _against_ anyone but Misty.

So he'd accepted, long ago, that Pikachu and Misty had a special bond. He'd accepted, much more recently, that it was a direct reflection of how close he and Misty themselves were, and that of course their getting married would only make it stronger.

But this was bordering on the ridiculous.

Close was one thing, and there were of course times when the two of them went off on their own. They had been doing that since almost the beginning, but lately… lately it was more likely that you would find Pikachu with Misty than with Ash.

Even now, Ash had woken up to an empty room. It wasn't uncommon for Misty to wake up before him, but until recently Pikachu would simply move over to her pillow, not follow her out.

Ash got dressed, trying not to get upset, but failing. He had been wanting to train with Pikachu specifically today. There was only so much time he could let his starter stay on the sidelines, no matter how many years they'd been by each other's sides. But, just like he had every day for the last month, Pikachu had chosen to be with Misty. Ash searched the house quickly, but as he expected, it was empty.

He hoped that they were at least training, wherever they were.

Ash stepped out into the morning (okay, _late_ morning) sun and gazed around. Moving to the Indigo Plateau hadn't been their first choice, but members of the Elite Four were expected to spend the majority of their time at their league headquarters, with meant that if Ash wanted to live with his wife, he had to live at the plateau. Not that it was much of a sacrifice, living steps away from the most powerful trainers in the region, and getting to know the people who would one day be the last thing separating him from his greatest dream.

Misty and Pikachu were not in his direct line of sight, so he began to walk. He thought about calling out another Pokémon, just to fill the void of the missing Pikachu, but decided against it after remembering that he currently had Snorlax, Charizard, Torterra and Garchomp, all of whom were far too large to simply be walking around the small village with, let alone to let ride on his head. He wandered for almost a full hour before giving up, and returning home.

"Pikapi!" Ash probably shouldn't have been surprised, at this point, that Pikachu's greeting was not followed by the Pokémon itself, but he was still miffed when he realized that Pikachu wasn't even in the same room.

"Ash?"

Not even Misty bothered to make herself seen after calling to him, and very small, very immature part of him wanted to turn right back around and leave. If they wanted to hang out without him so bad, well then fine, he would let them.

But Ash wasn't 10 years old anymore, and Misty wasn't just some girl who was following him around for a bike.

"Yeah." He called back. He waited, and waited, but neither of them made an appearance. He sighed heavily, and took a step further into the house when suddenly they both appeared from the bathroom.

Seriously? Pikachu never even went with _him_ to the bathroom. But then again, Ash reasoned, Misty did a great number of things in the bathroom that were not, in fact, using the toilet.

He tried not to look annoyed as they stepped out, with Pikachu perched on her shoulder the way he would usually be on Ash's. He apparently failed, because Misty tried to shoo Pikachu off toward him. Pikachu, however, didn't seem concerned about Ash's feelings the way she was, because he stayed put.

"Chaaa." He complained, and Misty gave up with a heavy sigh.

"Okay, that's it. What is going on with you two?" Ash demanded. "I get that you guys are friends too, really, and I know she's your favorite, but _I'm_ supposed to be your best friend. And we need to train. You haven't left her side for weeks!"

Misty and Pikachu shared a conspiratorial glance.

"Uh, Ash…I think you're gonna have to get used to Pikachu hanging out with me for awhile." Misty said, still looking at Pikachu and not him. Ash glared at them.

"What, is he defecting? You want her to be your trainer now? Is that it?" Misty and Pikachu both scoffed, and finally looked at him, just to roll their eyes.

"Oh come on, Ash, really?" Misty asked. Ash simply crossed his arms. "I'm not stealing Pikachu, Ash, I just…well he's already proving to be really protective, and it's probably only going to get worse." She reached up and scratched Pikachu between the ears, causing him to let out an appreciative "Chuuuu!"

"Protective?" Ash questioned.

"Yeah, and perceptive. He knew before I did." She added. Ash couldn't help it, he literally stomped his foot.

"What the heck are you talking about? What is going on with you two!" Misty pressed her lips together, and for some reason started blushing.

"Ash." She said, her tone making it seem like he really should know exactly what she was talking about.

"What?" He cringed at the whininess of his own voice. She laughed.

"Pikachu is just looking out for me and the baby."

"Who's…what?" Ash stammered. Misty smiled.

"Baby, Ash. Ours. That's why Pikachu hasn't left me alone, he could tell." Ash looked over to Pikachu, who was grinning at him, and patting Misty on the head.

"Pika!" he cheered. Ash looked back and forth between them several more times, waiting for his mouth to catch up to his brain.

"We're…you're…I…"

Misty gave up on him trying to string together words, and held open her arms. Ash took the lifeline to stop trying to talk, and walked forward, wrapping her up in his arms and hoping that that was enough to make up for his lack of speech. The longer they stood there, the better he felt. He only registered movement when he felt weight on his shoulder. Pikachu was now balancing on both of them, holding their heads as best he could.

"Okay, buddy. You stick with her then." Ash finally managed, pulling away from Misty far enough to be able to press his forehead to hers. "I guess I can let it go, you know, because we're having a baby."

"We're having a baby." Misty repeated.

"Pi Pikachu!" he agreed.

Ash smiled. He was sure that Pikachu was going to an amazing job, not just looking out for Misty, but looking out for the baby that would soon be with them.

And Ash was sure that the two of them would always be close.


	4. Protecting Each Other

Well, I delayed this a day, hoping I might get some editing inspiration to fix this, but alas, battles and action are so very much not my things. Not to sound to self-deprecating, because I still like this, it's just…not the best thing I've ever come up with ;p.

Day 4- Protecting each other

They had come too far to turn back now. Not that they would without what they came for. Failure was not an option.

"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" Misty scoffed, and pointed at the solid wall in front of them.

"Obviously." She snapped. Ash glared at her.

"You know what I meant, dammit." He hissed.

"You're the one who read the plans." She shot back.

"You were the one who picked this hall!" He yelled, and then immediately hunched, looking quickly around. Misty sighed. Now was not the time for them to argue about directions of all things (though the irony of it was not lost on her).

"Alright." She whispered after confirming that they were still alone, and beginning to walk back down the hall. Ash was hot on her heels "We just have to get back to where we started, and try again. We can-" She stopped talking, and Ash walked into her back as she slid to a halt.

"You can't do much of anything." The cool, sneering voice of a Team Rocket grunt taunted. Ash tried to step out from behind her, but she stuck out her arm. She could practically feel him rolling his eyes as he pushed it down, and took up position to her right.

"Not when you're stuck between a rock and a hard place." Misty, despite the fear of being cornered, couldn't help the confident smirk that found its way to her lips as the grunt on the right released his Pokémon, a Golem. A few seconds later, his teammate made his own choice, a Venusaur. She glanced sideways, and she and Ash shared an amused look.

"They really have no idea who there're dealing with here, do they?" He said, reaching for his belt.

"No Ash, I don't believe they do." Misty answered, reaching for her own.

"From where we're standing it looks like we're dealing with two trapped runts." The second grunt sneered.

"Yeah, two kids in way over their heads." The second added. There was a flash of light as Ash and Misty both made their move, and suddenly the hallway was filled with two more Pokémon, Starmie and Talonflame.

The grunts began to laugh.

"Wow, alright, these guys are seriously starting to bug me." Misty said. Ash let out a short laugh, which made Misty smile, despite the situation. He hadn't left since he'd lost Pikachu, which was of course why they were in this mess in the first place.

"Ash, I got this." She continued, "You go." Ash made an angry noise.

"Fat chance. I'm not leaving you on your own." Misty rolled her eyes, and turned to him.

"I'm serious Ash." She said.

"So am I." his tone was final. "We're a team Mist."

"Enough of this touchy feely couple stuff!" One of the grunts shouted, and Ash and Misty's attention snapped to him instantly.

"Wrong thing to say." Ash growled.

"Water gun!" Misty shouted without a second thought.

Battling past the grunts was easy, at least, beating their Pokémon had been, but the men themselves proved to be more of an issue. They made their break together. Misty almost kept going, as she slipped past them much easier than she had expected, despite their exhaustion, but at the end of the hall she realized why.

"Run!" Ash shouted. Misty turned back to see Ash being contained, albeit barely, by both grunts, despite Talonflame pecking at them.

"Ash!" she shouted, turning back.

"Go!" She could barely hear him over the commotion.

"Starmie!"

"No! Get out of here, get help!" Misty hesitate for the space of second before she squared herself. She almost ordered Starmie to attack, but realized at the last second that she would hit Ash if she did. She couldn't protect him by hurting him.

Then she did something that was quite possibly the dumbest thing she had ever done.

She charged them herself.

She bounced off the first grunt, but recovered quickly, launching herself around and aiming her foot at his instep. It had the desired effect in that he let go of Ash. Unfortunately, it meant that he grabbed her instead.

"Mist. No, argg!" Now they were each contained by a single grunt, the fight got easier, but Ash managed to get out first.

"Go!" she yelled, though she knew without looking at him that he was giving her a deadpan look.

She hadn't listened, neither would he.

"Flamethrower!" She heard it, but she couldn't quite believe it. What was he thinking, attacking a person with a Pokemon attack?

For half a second she thought that the attack was coming for the grunt holding onto her, but the heat came in from her right, and she realized it was the other he had hit.

She and her attacker both froze and looked to the man who was now on the floor, screaming and rolling. Misty recovered first, and ducked to roll her own grunt over her shoulder, so that he joined his partner on the floor.

"Talonflame!"

"No!" Misty cut across Ash, and he stopped. She shot him a quick glare before turning and stomping the man in the face. It still knocked him out, but at least he wasn't burned.

They stood there, silent for a few moments, the only sound their heavy breathing.

"What the hell we're you thinking!" They shouted together, each turning to glare at the other.

"Why didn't you run!" Ash growled.

"Why did you barbeque him!" Misty snarled back.

"I couldn't let him hurt you!" They answered in unison again. They didn't move. They couldn't. They simply stared at each other.

Misty wasn't sure which one of them moved first, but the next thing she knew they were hugging, holding onto each other as tight as they possibly could, like if they let go they might disappear from each other.

"Why do you always do this to me Ash?" she whispered into his ear. Ash peeled away from her, but only far enough for them to be eye to eye.

"Me?! Who was the one who fell off a bridge?" Misty raised an eyebrow at him.

"Do you really want to play the 'who has done most scary stuff' game Ash, because I will remind you, you have actually _died_ on me before." Ash looked apologetic for a second, but then returned to his look of concern.

"Sorry, I just…"

"Get protective." She said. He nodded. "I think we've got that pretty much covered between the two of us."

Below them one of the unconscious grunt's walkie talkies buzzed to life.

"Wesley! Hardin! Check in! Is the threat neutralized?" Ash and Misty stepped apart and looked down.

"Someone is going to come looking for them soon." Misty said.

"And we still have a job to do." Ash added. They locked eyes one more time, and they each nodded.

They took off in stride, running down the hall. They both knew there was more danger ahead, but as long as they were there to protect each other, nothing was going to stop them.


	5. Sleeping Together

Hey! I got a day off on the schedule, but there will be two of these today, and I'll be back on track.

This is beyond cliché, but hey, if it ain't broke…

Day 5-sleeping together.

As the beam of warm sunlight hit his face, Ash became aware that he was awake. He didn't open his eyes; he could not remember ever having woken up in a better mood and he didn't want to ruin it by opening them to the real world. He inhaled deeply through his nose, but it wasn't as easy as it should have been. He ran through his dream in his mind quickly, and suddenly remembered. He grinned and opened his eyes just a crack.

…..yesterday…

Ash could not have been more annoyed. It was Misty's fault they were in this predicament. She had been the one to insist that they needed to follow the school of Wishiwashi. She had been the one to insist that "the storm was too far out to sea."

He tried not to think about all the times his own impulsiveness had led them down similar roads, it took away from his annoyance now. Especially as she had managed to strand them on an island that did at least boast a Pokémon Center. He was ripped out of his thoughts as Nurse Joy began to speak.

"I'm so sorry, but we only have a single room left. We don't have many to begin with, and for some reason people seem to be unaware that the Wishiwashi only move in severe weather." Nurse Joy said testily.

"Well, one room is fine, " Misty said quickly, cutting off Ash's biting remark at the roots "We've shared a room before."

"No, dear, when I say a single room, I mean one bed." the nurse clarified. Misty didn't move. Ash raised his eyebrows behind her, waiting. Nurse Joy looked between the two of them. After several agonizing seconds Ash decided that Misty wouldn't answer, and stepped forward.

"There's a floor." he said shortly. He hooked the key onto his finger, and started down the hallway. Misty stared at him.

"Are you coming or not?" He raised his eyebrows again, trying not to shout. When she still didn't move, he rolled his eyes, turned on his heel, and continued down the hall.

"Thanks." Misty said hastily to the Nurse. He heard her footsteps coming up quickly behind him.

"I never would have expected you to volunteer to sleep on the floor." she mused.

"Who said I did?" he said. They arrived at the door and he threw it open moodily. He stopped two steps in, staring at the single, ancient looking bed.

"Hey!" Misty retorted. "You're the one who said there's a floor."

"Because you lost the ability to function back there. If you had listened to me in the first place we would be in comfortable beds of our own. It's your fault we're here, so you get the floor." Misty's face scrunched in anger, and Ash knew he was in for a storm.

"You didn't have to come here with me! I told you that you could stay behind. In fact, I told you that you _should_ , because you have a test in the morning, and you need all the study time you can get!" Ash scowled at her. That was a low blow, and she knew it. He was too cranky to acknowledge the twinge of regret that crossed her face after she said it, and fired right back.

"Probably not. I'd probably have been better off if you'd just stayed at your stupid gym in the first place and hadn't waltzed back in to distract me. I haven't been able to focus on _anything_ since I got here, let alone school. But we're stuck here now, and I'M TAKING THAT STUPID LUMPY BED!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Misty didn't say a word. She simply glared at Ash, stormed past him, stole a pillow, and stomped into the hall, presumably to make a bed for herself somewhere else in the center.

Ash gripped his hair and growled in frustration.

"Why does she have to be so infuriating?!" he asked Pikachu angrily. Pikachu remained silent. Ash looked over, and saw him curled up in a corner. Obviously he wouldn't be taking sides. He flopped down onto the bed, which creaked and bounced him sharply. He finally came to a stop face down in the pillow. He growled again and slammed his fist into the bed. He flipped over and stared at the ceiling.

What right did she have to have taken over his life? He _had_ been fine without her for years now, after all.

"Forget it." he mumbled, and kicked off his shoes and socks, pulled off his pants and shirt and slid under the covers before burying his face again.

He was just beginning to wonder if maybe Misty had actually gotten the better end of the deal with whatever couch she had found when the door opened and the lights he hadn't bothered with switched off. He peeked over the pillow to see Misty throwing her sleeping bag out on the floor, wearing her blue shorts and a green tank top. It wasn't until he was watching her slide into the bag that the slightest twinge of guilt hit him. He wrestled with it in his mind. Would she even listen to him now? Would she answer? Did he even want to say anything?

"Misty?" he said hesitantly. No answer.

"Misty?" he said more forcefully. Nothing.

"Seriously, Misty."

"What?!" she hissed.

"Maybe…maybe we could…share?"

Misty said nothing.

"It's pretty big actually."

Misty still didn't say anything, and Ash rolled his eyes again. There was so much negative energy radiating between the two of them. Each of them had gone for the jugular earlier, and he knew that this would be the last night of their travels together unless he got her into the bed.

He made a strange noise between a laugh and a gag at the thought.

"What?" Misty said. Ash turned toward her.

"That's what got your attention?" he asked incredulously.

"Do you really think continuing to be a jerk is necessary right now?" she said haughtily.

"Fine. I'll take the floor." he said. Misty sat up quickly.

"Excuse me?" The amount of surprise in her voice actually stung a little, but he pushed it aside.

"If you don't want to share, I'll take the floor." Misty looked down for a second, then stood and walked toward the bed. Ash began to sit up, but Misty held up her hand.

"No, we can both use it, just…stay on your side and I'll stay on mine. It'll be fine." she slid into the sheets, bouncing both herself and Ash, who grimaced. She pulled the two extra pillows that he had shoved away out from behind her and positioned them between them.

"Well, okay then." He said awkwardly. He rolled one way, and Misty the other so that they were back to back. Ash closed his eyes, and was almost instantly asleep.

….

Ash looked down on the orange hair splayed around his chest, and the head it was attached to.

"So much for on your own side." he whispered. The buffer pillows were nowhere to be seen.

"hmmm?" Misty made a tired noise, and Ash saw her eyes open, slowly at first, but then wide and shocked. She sat up quickly.

"Ash?"

Ash was watching her carefully. She was…glowing. the sun was giving her a bright, blurry outline.

"Misty." he answered, grinning a little in spite of himself.

She slid back, causing the bed to creak and bounce again. Both of them looked down, and then back at the other. They started to laugh.

"Well, I think we solved the problem." Ash said. "I've never felt better."

Misty smirked at him.


	6. Through the eyes of others

SO this is what this week was all about for me. This is the one I wrote a month ago. This…is the one that is 7,800 words long.

oops

It cycles though all their peers in the order they encountered them. I hope you enjoy this one, it was a lot of fun.

Day 6-Their relationship through the eyes of others

 _ **Team Rocket**_

"Hey, the twerpette is back!" Meowth turned to face his companions, as they lowered their binoculars to converse. There had been many girls who had joined up with Ash and his Pikachu over the many years, but twerpette would always be reserved for the red-head.

"Wow, how long has it been since we've seen her?" James mused.

Jessie sniffed.

"So long I'd almost forgotten all about the little runt." James and Meowth shared a conspiratorial glance.

"Still not a fan?" Meowth said with a grin.

"What is there to like?" Jessie stuck her nose in the air.

James went back to his stalking, so as to avoid Jessie's wrath.

"Apparently the twerp thinks there's something." He said, not looking away. Jessie and Meowth put their own binoculars back up.

"When did that happen?" Meowth yelped, dropping his binoculars and trying to squint through the semi-darkness of dusk to see the campsite with his own eyes.

"We didn't miss something did we?" James added, pressing his own face farther into the eye sockets. "She only just showed back up today, right?"

Jessie frowned, but didn't drop her lenses.

"Well, it's about time."

Meowth and James gaped at her, and she merely raised an eyebrow without looking at them.

"But she was gone." James reasoned.

"I know they were lovebirds back in the day, but…"Meowth continued.

"It's a tale as old as time." Jessie sighed. "Young love, separated by fate, finding each other again despite the odds against them."

Meowth and James rolled their eyes at each other, then went back to watching the scene below them.

"You know, they seem pretty distracted, now would be the perfect time to-"

"Not a chance!" Jessie snapped.

"Jessie?" James asked. All three of them looked to each other again.

"What did I just say? This is romance at its finest. We've been waiting for this for nearly a decade, you really want to mess it up now, just to fail again?" She fixed them with a challenging glare, and they both deflated.

"No." They chorused.

"Right then." Jessie said with a nod. "Now, let's get started on a plan for how we're going to get Pikachu in the morning. If the twerpette is back, it's going to be harder than ever."

 _ **Brock**_

He wasn't ready.

He'd been waiting for this moment for as long as he could remember, but now that it was here, he wasn't sure he wanted it.

But there they were, totally unaware that he'd arrived. He watched them for enough years to know that something was different. Something had changed. He wondered if anyone but he would've noticed.

They weren't kissing, they weren't holding hands, they were barely even touching. In fact, they appeared to be arguing, which was about the most natural act the two of them had. But it was there. It was there in the way he was smirking at her while making a point, in the way she stuck out her hip and in the playfulness of her glare. It was in the way he flung his arm around her shoulder before leaning down to whisper in her ear. It was in the way she turned red as he did, then smacked him in the chest, leaving her hand there for longer than was strictly necessary.

Brock had watched for years, painfully aware of what they seemed determined to ignore. He had given up any hope of anything ever coming of it, a little miffed that he'd spent so long caught in the middle of their dance for nothing. He realized then that maybe what he was looking at was just the older version of that same dance. What if nothing had changed? What if they'd simply picked up where they left off, ten years older and none the wiser? They had invited him here to Viridian City because they "had something to show him" and he'd dared to hope at the way they giggled on the phone, but now he was afraid he'd let his own desires blind him to their reality. They were Ash and Misty, this was just how they worked. They'd probably only wanted to show him some new Pokémon or something. He'd let himself get excited for nothing. They would never wake up, they'd waited too long…

Then it happened. Misty wasn't giving him cute little glares and playful smacks anymore, she was really glaring, and her hands were planted firmly on her hips in a gesture Brock would have recognized if she was 10, 20, or even 50. She was on a roll too. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was saying it with fervor. Ash didn't look phased though. He considered her, clearly not listening to a word she was saying, before reaching forward, taking her face in his hands, and kissing her. She looked startled at first, but only for a moment, before rolling her eyes, then leaning into the kiss. They broke apart, and she smacked him in the shoulder, playfully again, as he grinned shamelessly down at her.

Warmth spread across Brock's chest as he watched. Those were his kids down there, and they weren't blind anymore. He sniffed, and laughed to himself before realizing that there was pressure building up behind his eyes.

"Now is not the time to cry Brock," he told himself, "wait until they tell you."

He rubbed at his eyes, then fixed his face with his best neutral expression, and headed down the hill toward his friends.

 _ **Gary**_

If he was being honest, Gary barely remembered Misty. He'd only met her a handful of times, but when he thought hard, and past his own contempt for Ash at the time, he could remember a girl with a temper far bigger than her size suggested. He remembered a girl who had stood up for Ash against him fiercely, and whom he wasn't sure had ever really forgiven him for how nasty he had been.

He wasn't even sure she'd remember _him_ when he'd bumped into her and Ash at his grandpa's lab, but boy did she. Her face had immediately contorted into a mask of distrust and disdain, and she took a protective step in front of Ash, who seemed not to notice her reaction. Gary probably didn't help matters by smirking at her, but he couldn't help but be amused. Clearly Ash had not bothered to fill her in on their adventure in Sinnoh where they'd truly made peace.

"Gary Oak." she'd said with a little more venom than was strictly necessary. Ash finally looked at her then, and noticed her stance. He snorted, and she looked at him incredulously.

"Well, well, Ashy-boy finally decided to come home." Gary said, choosing to ignore Misty for as long as possible. Ash grinned at him, and after placing a placating hand on Misty's shoulder, stepped around her to shake Gary's hand.

"Okay, wait, are you two...like friends now? I mean, I know it was all nice at the end of the Silver Conference, but…" Misty trailed off, looking between them.

"Yeah, I mean, when we weren't competing anymore, there wasn't much point in being rivals." Ash reasoned. Misty gaped at him.

"We even managed to make a pretty good team in Sinnoh." Gary added. Misty turned to him, glare back in place, but before she could say anything, Gary's grandpa stuck his head around the corner.

"Ash, m'boy! Please, come here, I need you to look at something." Ash looked warily between Gary and Misty, before jogging off. Misty crossed her arms and straightened up to her full, taller than Gary, height.

"I don't know what sort of adventure you guys had in Sinnoh, but I remember you in Kanto and Johto, and you mark my words Gary Oak, if I ever see any hint that you are treating Ash the way you did back then...I still remember where my mallet is." Then she brought her fingers up to her eyes in a V and pointed them back at him. Gary only smiled.

"Noted Red." he said. "Glad to know he's still got looking out for him after all this time." Misty's face flushed, and he couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or anger at the nickname.

"Yeah, well, that's what girlfriends are for." She sniffed. She stalked off after Ash, leaving Gary alone in the hallway.

"Girlfriend huh?" he muttered. "Well damn, look at Ashy-boy, beating me again."

 _ **Tracey**_

There had never been a doubt in Tracey's mind that this day would come. From that very first day with Lapras, to the last time he'd seen them together at Oak's lab, to everyday he'd spent at the Cerulean Gym while Misty was leader, he'd known. They'd always been entertaining, fighting like cats and dogs, hurling insults and trying and failing to cover jealous streaks, insisting to their last breath that they didn't care about each other that way, only to share a bond the likes that Tracey had yet to encounter anywhere else. Sometimes it hadn't even felt like he was there, like he was simply lucky enough to be along for the ride with a front row seat to the beginning of their love story. Brock had been very upset when Tracey had shared some of his stories, mostly that he'd missed the pair of them at their peak of denial.

The first time Ash showed up at the Cerulean Gym, Tracey had been surprised, less by Ash actually being there, and more by the suspicion that Ash treated him with. It wasn't until Tracey explained that he was there to do some work for Daisy that he'd warmed up, and Tracey remembered the jealous streak that he had been so amused by all those years ago. Ash hadn't seemed at all amused when Tracey burst out laughing, but he couldn't help it. Luckily, Misty had arrived then, and the two had explained, with much blushing, stuttering and appealing glances between them, that Ash was going to be visiting a lot more now, and that they had started dating.

Tracey was beside himself with happiness, and though Daisy chose that moment to poke her head around the corner and insist that he "leave the silly lovebirds alone and come help her" he couldn't stop thinking about every memory of the two of them he had. He grinned to himself as he cleaned filters, and ignored an unimpressed Daisy as she tried to get him to discuss her latest audition. Ash and Misty seemed fine with each other as Tracey watched them below in the battling pool, battling each other with all the rambunctious teasing and spirit that they always had, but as he approached to bid them farewell they were reduced once more to an adorably uncharacteristic shyness, so far from the violent denials that he had come to think of as their normal behavior that it honestly threw him off a little.

He made a beeline for his box of old sketchbooks as he arrived back to his room at the lab, rifling through page after page of Pokémon until he found the one he wanted. He smiled softly at it as he held it up to the light.

He knew that having woken up before them during one of those Jigglypuff attacks would come in handy someday.

 _ **May**_

May wasn't sure whether she should laugh, cry, or throw a parade.

She had been sure when she'd first met Misty all those years ago in the Mirage Kingdom that there was something between her and Ash, but she never got any concrete proof. In fact, Ash had straight up refuted the claim when May had asked after Misty had returned home.

"She's my best friend, but no, we're not like that." he'd said, with a sad little grin that May hadn't understood at the time.

Truth be told she wasn't sure Ash had understood it either, but that wasn't relevant. Brock had said that reaction was new; that before when someone had accused Ash of liking her, he'd blow up, and shout that there was no way. Brock had looked smug, but May was confused. Then she herself had been accused of being a couple with Ash, and she'd understood. She watched more closely the next few times they saw Misty. She watched how in sync she and Ash were. How they barely seemed to need to talk to be on the same page. How they'd seemed so sure of each other and their abilities, despite all the time that had passed between them. Then she started comparing them to herself and Drew, and knew she was in trouble.

In the end, Misty had become one of her best friends, one of the people she looked up to most, and she had decided it would be her mission in life to get the two of them to admit that there was something more between them than friendship. Once she and Drew finally got together, her resolve increased exponentially, especially as he seemed to take an odd interest in the quest. If anyone deserved to be happy together, it was Ash and Misty.

And now here they were, coming to watch her compete in the Kanto Grand Festival together. She hadn't been expecting it, having invited them each individually, but they'd responded together.

"Sure May, we'd love to be there, wouldn't miss it for the world!"

She knew the couple response. She knew that _we._ Drew had had to put way too much effort into keeping her focused on the festival and not on her friends. But how could she focus on her appeals when her two friends had gotten together without her! They hadn't needed her at all, and honestly she was a little miffed. When they arrived however, all the annoyance faded away. They were both radiating so much joy, which wasn't out of the ordinary for either of them, but it was a different kind of joy. An, "everything is right with the world in this moment" joy. There was no shame or embarrassment as they approached her, holding hands and even swinging them a bit. She shot Drew a contemptuous look as she spotted this, and he pretended not to notice.

It was like they had always been in her experience. Perfect sync. Practically finishing each other's sentences. Ebb and flow. A united front. A team.

 _ **Max**_

He was happy for them, really he was. But why should he care if Ash had finally gotten up the guts to tell Misty how he felt? (Because surely that's what had happened. No way Misty would have deigned to do it herself, nor should she have had to. Ash was the idiot). Why should he care that she had been willing to be with him despite all his density, despite the years of being oblivious to how she felt?

Why should it bother him to see her grinning at Ash like he was her favorite thing in the whole world? Why should it bother him to see them holding hands, and teasing and joking? Why should Max have any reason to be annoyed that Misty had chosen Ash, and that they seemed to be amazing together, a perfect fit?

Sure he was happy, but why should it concern him?

 _ **Dawn**_

She'd known from the moment he refused to let her use the lure that there was something about Misty, but she'd never gotten the chance to meet her before she stopped traveling with Ash. Dawn had always wanted to, but Ash had been pretty mum on the subject, and Brock was little to no help with his sad head shakes, and his "it's a long story"'s. May had gotten to meet her a few times, and was much more forthcoming, so Dawn had learned that Misty was likely more than just "a really good friend" like Ash had insisted. Truth be told, she'd gotten a little obsessed, growing frustrated by all the dead ends she'd met with May's lack of knowledge and Brock's unwillingness to speak to the matter. Even after she'd split up from Ash, she'd kept it up, unable to shake the curiosity that was Ash actually having romantic feelings for a girl.

Maybe it had been overkill, making a stop at the Cerulean City Gym, but she'd been in Kanto anyway, and the Sensational Sisters show's were world famous after all. Simply mentioning Ash was enough to get her backstage, which piqued her interest to unfathomable levels.

When she'd met Misty, she understood immediately. The girl was almost the exact opposite of Dawn herself, but she could see so much of why Ash would like her in only a few moments of conversation. It was obvious Misty too carried a torch for the absent trainer, though she never said it. Dawn suspected that if she had asked outright, Misty wouldn't have lied, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She left Cerulean as a proud member of May's crusade to bring the two of them together again, but life got in the way, and some six years later, she learned of its success at the Kanto Grand Festival Ball following May's win.

They weren't an in your face couple, in fact, one would probably be hard pressed to even tell they were together. What they lacked in public displays of affection however, they made up for in synchronicity. All she'd ever heard from the people who had known them when they traveled together was how much time they'd spent fighting, and though she could see how that may be the case (she did get into her fair share of shouting matches with Ash back in the day) all she really saw now was two people who knew each other inside and out. She saw two old friends teasing each other about the fact that neither of them seemed able to dance. People who were insanely comfortable with each other poking and prodding and pointing out random things around the room. Two stars that orbited each other, separate but dependant. Bright on their own, but twice as strong together.

She caught Misty's eye, and the two shared a knowing grin. They had agreed to not tell Ash about Dawn's little visit all those years ago, and going by the confused look on Ash's face, Misty had kept up her end of the deal. Dawn kept up her smile, glad to know that they finally had each other, and wondering if maybe now that he had the real thing back, Ash would let her try out that lure.

 _ **Iris**_

Iris had never really heard much about Misty. All she really knew was that she'd traveled with Ash at the beginning of his journey back in Kanto, that she'd been there through all of his trials and tribulations with his Charizard. The stories relating back to Charizard were the only one's she'd really heard about any of Ash's time before coming to Unova, with the exception of a smattering of Sinnoh stories from Dawn. He'd been pretty tight lipped about his past, and Iris could relate, so she'd never pushed.

0But now; now she sort of wished she had. Misty was amazing. She was a gym leader, a powerful one who specialized in water types. She loved the outdoors and getting down and dirty and she was tough. But she was also gorgeous, standing there in a light blue mini dress, beaming around at all the people, several of whom, including Iris, she'd never met. An engagement party had hardly sounded like Iris' idea of fun, but she'd come, more out of curiosity than anything else. What sort of girl could get Ash Ketchum to stop acting like a little kid and settle down?

"Mist, this is Iris!" Ash had introduced, taking Iris aback with his enthusiasm. True, she considered Ash one of her best friends, but the reality was that they'd only spent a year traveling together when they were 17, hardly "enthusiastically introducing you to my fiancé eight years later" material. But Misty had beamed at her, and shaken her hand vigorously.

"I have heard so much about you. And can I just say, you are my hero. I can never thank you enough for keeping this big head in check while I couldn't." She patted Ash a little roughly on the top of the head as she spoke, and he grimaced at her, but the look was quickly replaced with a grin. Iris must've looked her confusion, because Misty had pressed on.

"Ash told me all about how you always called him out, telling him he was 'being a little kid.'" She'd smirked as Ash rolled his eyes, then raised her hand for a high five. Iris only hesitated momentarily before slapping hands.

"It was my pleasure, really." she said with a smirk of her own.

"Alright, geez, I was never _really_ that bad." he'd complained. Misty raised an eyebrow at him.

"What was that, Mr. Pokémon Master?" she teased. Iris lit up.

"Ooo, I like that one." she laughed.

"Guys, this isn't pick on Ash night!" he whined. Misty rolled her eyes, and Iris continued laughing.

"Come on now Ash, stop acting like such a little kid!" she wheezed. Misty doubled over in laughter as well, resting a hand on Iris' shoulder as they carried on. Ash let out a huff next to them.

"I should never have let you two meet." he muttered. Misty reached over and flicked him on the ear, still grinning. Ash rubbed it, trying his best to look offended, but failing as his fiancé grinned at him and reached up to smooth the hair she'd mussed up earlier. Iris beamed at them.

They were made for each other.

 _ **Cilan**_

This was the sort of thing that Cilan lived for. True his forte was the bonds between people and Pokémon, but of course the bonds between people fascinated him endlessly as well. Now that he was here he was having a field day, tasting all the relationships between all the friends Ash had made over the years. Some who knew each other well, some who were only meeting now for the first time. He'd been pleasantly surprised to see his own old friend Brock there, and learn that he was in fact Ash's best man.

He hadn't known much about Ash's bride-to-be beyond that she had known him from the very beginning, and that even in Unova, Ash considered her to be his best human friend. He'd gotten an odd taste from Ash on the few occasions he'd spoken of Misty in their time journeying together. He'd gotten notes of fondness, fun, friendship and nostalgia, but also those of regret, annoyance, and even a faint hint of longing. He hadn't really known what to think at the time, but Ash hadn't been particularly forthcoming, so Cilan had let the matter drop quickly. Now that he was finally meeting Misty in person however, he almost couldn't handle all the flavors that the two were putting off.

First and foremost, they tasted of love. That was for certain, and not something Cilan had ever expected from Ash. There was something similar to the bond the couple shared and the bond that Ash had with Pikachu, and indeed Misty had her own amazingly flavorful bond with Ash's most trusted Pokémon, which Cilan knew was the highest of endorsements for a pair. The bonds between people was reflected in the bonds between humans and Pokémon.

There were a few less than sweet notes between Ash and Misty. There was that same air of regret that Cilan had first noticed all those years ago, and he chalked that up mainly to the great number of years the two of them spent apart, pining silently for one another. There was also an anger simmering deep below, and Cilan remembered the stories he'd heard from Brock earlier that night about how heated and explosive the pair of them had been in their youth. There was also a mild note of fear, but from what Cilan couldn't fathom. Perhaps the natural fear that came with starting a new chapter in life, but to Cilan it felt more like the fear of loss. Fear that maybe they'd be separated again.

But it took all of his considerable connoisseur skills to detect any of that, because joy and happiness were bursting from them, flooding his palette with a sweetness that could only come from the best of friends and the most romantic of lovers. He really wished he could have seen the two of them from the beginning. No doubt their relationship would have been the treat of a lifetime to witness, though truth be told Brock and Tracey, the two that had known them longest, seemed to be struggling quite a bit under all the history they held.

When it all came down to it though, Cilan had never tasted anything more interesting, and their palette was a joy to behold.

 _ **Bonnie**_

"I guess if you're marrying Ash, that means you wouldn't be interested in marrying my brother."

Ash laughed as Misty stared confusedly at the blonde teenager. Truthfully, a rehearsal dinner was not an ideal place to be meeting the bride for the first time, but there had simply been no point at which Bonnie and Ash's travel schedules had matched up. She had just completed the Silver conference, having come in a very impressive if disappointing 4th. She grinned at Ash now, glad that he could at least appreciate her joke.

"See, ha haha, Mist...there was this hahaha, thing, that Bonnie used to do." He broke down into more laughter as the red-headed woman next to him watched with raised eyebrows, and Bonnie's grin turned into a smirk. "She would propose to every girl we found, and would ask...ask them to take care of her brother!"

Misty simply looked confused, and Ash looked pensive for a few seconds before snapping his fingers.

"She was like, a little Brock, but for her brother!" At this, Misty snorted, and Ash's face lit up.

"Okay, yeah, I get it now." she wheezed. "That is fantastic, I'm sure he really appreciated it." Bonnie joined in on the laughter, a for a few moments they didn't speak.

Bonnie recovered first, and watched as Ash and Misty continued to catch each other's eye and break into fresh giggles. Bonnie had only just met Brock the day before, and she had no idea how she was like him, but clearly it was some sort of inside joke.

Bonnie had been very young when she'd spent the most time with Ash. They'd managed to see a lot of each other over the years, bumping into each other at special tournaments and the like once she'd been old enough to train Pokémon on her own, but mainly her memories were fuzzy. Despite this though, she could never remember seeing Ash the way he had been in the last few days. Even back then, he had seemed like such a grown-up to her. A brilliant trainer who almost always had a handle on a situation, and a complete oaf who couldn't tell if a girl liked him, even when she all but spelled it out. But here, with Misty, and all the others he'd met along his vast and winding way, he was someone else. Not completely different, but not completely the Ash she knew. For one thing, she hadn't really ever realized that Ash was funny. She also hadn't known he was incredibly sarcastic. And she most definitely would never in a million years have pegged Ash Ketchum of all people as a romantic.

As the two of them settled down, each rubbing tears from their eyes, Bonnie caught Ash staring at his soon to be wife. Then Misty herself caught the look, and smiled smugly at him. Bonnie couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"Well, Bonnie, as nice as your brother is, I do think that ship has sailed. Unless…" Misty turned around, searching the room, presumably for her brother, and Ash let out an indignant squawk.

"Hey!" He shouted, and Misty turned back to him, eyes sparkling with mirth that Bonnie could very much appreciate.

"Well, he's an inventor! You know, building the future? I'm sure there's plenty of possibility in that." Though Ash continued to look upset, even Bonnie could tell that it was all for show. Misty let him keep it up for a few moments before rolling her eyes and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

"You know I'm kidding. It's Pokémon Master or nothing for me." she said. Ash laughed once.

"Well, I guess I better get back to training then."

Bonnie beamed up at them. She hadn't known what to expect. Ash getting married, even now, seemed like such a foreign concept, but the longer Bonnie watched, the more inevitable it all seemed. She was a little annoyed even that Ash had never bothered to mention Misty before. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble way back when if he had, but of course, Ash had never thought like that. But to see it now, it was harder to believe that the Ash she remembered was even real. Ash with Misty was flirty, all smirks and grins and playful teasing, and Bonnie realized just how much of himself he must've been holding back when she'd first known him.

So if Misty was the one who could make Ash like this, could make him this comfortable and at ease, and seeming so very much himself, then Bonnie would love her too, because that was all that really mattered.

 _ **Clemont**_

Clemont had never been to a wedding before, let alone been a groomsman. Ash had assured him that it would be easy, all he really had to do was wear a suit, stand up for a few minutes, then join in on the party. Easy. But Clemont had been reading up, and as usual, Ash had clearly over simplified things.

He had been shocked to say the least when he had gotten the call from Ash that he was getting married. So shocked in fact that he almost hadn't caught that Ash was asking him to be a groomsman. It was just so far from the Ash he knew. Love and romantic relationships were not the first things that came to mind when Clemont thought of his old friend. He tried to imagine the sort of girl that would be able to bring that side out of Ash. He realized that he could not for the life of him come up with a list of criteria. Would she have to be exceptionally pretty? But then Ash had never seemed the type to care about looks. Would she have to be smart? The only qualities Clemont could really land on were kind, loyal, and good with Pokemon, and that could apply to any number of girls.

Being chosen as a groomsmen in and of itself meant that Ash considered him one of his closest friends, and that was a lot of responsibility, but they had been friends for years, even after Ash had left Kalos, they had had a great deal of regular contact, something that Clemont had learned was rare. Then he'd arrived in the sleepy little town Ash came from, and he'd realized just how much of an honor it really was to be one of the ones standing up with him. Ash had been to dozen of regions over several years, and amassed a flock of friends that fully overwhelmed Clemont. Bonnie had been no help at all. She was a social butterfree after all, and hadn't stopped meeting new people since they'd arrived. Luckily, however, one person had taken pity on him.

He'd found himself straining to remember anytime that this "Misty" had been mentioned in all the time that Clemont had known Ash, but came up totally blank. Clemont hadn't wanted to ask, but Bonnie had had no problem jumping in, and Ash explained that Misty was his first real friend. That they'd had to split up when she had to go home to her gym, but they'd reconnected when Ash went back to Kanto to re-enter the Indigo League.

"It's all been a little crazy, huh?" The red-headed woman stage whispered to him.

If Clemont couldn't have imagined the kind of girl that could catch Ash's attention before, he couldn't imagine any other girl now that he'd finally met Misty. She was sensationally pretty, incredibly smart, and one of the toughest gym leaders Clemont had ever seen. She brought out a completely different side of Ash that Clemont hadn't known existed. If you had told him 10 years ago that one day he would see Ash Ketchum being flirty, he would have laughed in your face, but that just how he and Misty were. Playful.

"Uh...yeah, just a little bit." he answered, glancing over at her only to see how tense she herself looked.

"I know. Honestly, I haven't even met most of these people. Ash just went so many places, and, well, you know him. Makes a friend wherever he goes." she shrugged, and let out a little laugh. Clemont nodded.

"Are you making fun of me again?" Misty and Clemont both jumped a little as Ash butted in. Misty recovered first.

"Of course not honey, wouldn't dream of it." Even Clemont could catch the sarcasm in her tone, and Ash narrowed his eyes at her before appealing to Clemont.

"Was she?" he asked. Clemont's eyes went wide.

"N-no! Of course not, we were just...and all the people…" Ash smiled and shook his head.

"I'm only teasing Clemont, sorry." he apologized. Misty rolled her eyes.

"Sorry about him; though I guess really the benefit of everyone here being his friend is that I don't have to apologize for him, do I?" She laughed, a cute little laugh that she covered with the back of her hand. For a second, Clemont was looking at an entirely different girl, but then blinked.

"Har Har Mist." Ash said with a jovial roll of his eyes.

"Hey, bride-to-be!" A tall, gorgeous, blonde woman (Daisy if Clemont was remembering correctly) strode over, and planted her hands on her hips. "It's time to go. No seeing the groom until you're at the altar!"

"Yeah, say goodnight lovebirds!" A brunette this time, May, shouted, causing not just Ash and Misty, but Clemont himself to blush. He took a step away from the pair as they stepped into each other.

"A whole night away from you, however will I cope?" Misty said, bopping Ash playfully on the nose. He sighed and grinned at her.

"I don't know Mist, being apart really isn't our style." They both laughed.

"Not anymore it isn't." She added, snaking her arms around his neck. Clemont took another step away as their lips met, and the room filled with cat calls and wolf whistles.

"Alright, alright, break it up, best man, coming through." They broke apart, but didn't let go of each other as Brock approached. Ash and Misty raised an inquiring eyebrow at him as he laced his fingers together and stretched them in front of him.

"I have waited so long to be able to do this." He said. Misty's eyes blew wide, and she looked faintly panicked until Brock turned to Ash, and her panic turned to glee.

"Hey!" Ash protested as Brock grabbed him firmly by the ear and began to pull away. "This isn't fair! The ear was _her_ thing!" There was more laughter as the pair disappeared.

"Hey." Another man, Gary, nudged Clemont as he looked on, still baffled. "That was our cue too." Clemont nodded.

"Well, see you tomorrow then Misty." he said, turning to her and waving. She was still doubled over in laughter, but managed to compose herself enough to give them a quick wave.

"Do I even want to know?" Clemont asked Gary as they followed Ash's griping out the door.

"I don't know myself, and knowing those three, I'm perfectly happy to keep it that way." Gary answered.

Clemont turned ahead, unsure what to say to Gary, and choosing to get lost in his thoughts again instead.

Ash had so much history he'd known nothing about. Misty was part of that history, but now she was part of whatever future Ash had too. He decided that he liked the idea of it, being able to pick up where you left off with someone, even after years and years. Ash and Misty were a beacon of hope for anyone who was far removed from someone they loved. They were living proof that if it was meant to happen it would, if one was willing to be open to it.

Maybe he would be able to be inspired by Ash just one more time.

 _ **Serena**_

She still wasn't sure that this was real.

It had taken her maybe a year to finally give up trying to track him down AND the hope that he would get a hold of her. For the longest time she couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. She'd been brave, and though he'd looked shocked at first, in the end he had smiled at her. Surely that had meant something good right?

But a few months ago she'd learned the full story. Brave as her last act had been, it had been overshadowed almost immediately, by none other than the red head now standing next to him, posing for pictures while they held a knife together over their cake. They were alternating between looking at the flashes and each other, and they looked calculating. She wasn't sure what that was about, until the crowd began to clap, and both bride and groom were almost instantly covered in frosting as they smooshed pieces into the other's face.

She couldn't help but grin as she watched them laugh, trying to get each other more.

She had been there, waiting.

According to May it hadn't been the first time. Usually whenever ever Ash "bothered" (May's word) to actually go home, she was there waiting for him. She'd missed him once, and he hadn't been back for two years after that, so she had resolved never to make that mistake again. May had been almost unable to relate the rest of the story to her, excited as she was. Serena almost wished she hadn't been able to get the words out.

 _He didn't even wait! He just grabbed her, right there, and, well, now…_

May had waved the wedding invitation around gleefully.

Serena shuffled back to her seat, content to watch the assembled guests go about their party. Some were dancing, some were chatting, most had cake now. She didn't feel much like eating, so she perched her chin in her hands and continued to observe. She was so caught up in the guests, she didn't even notice when someone dropped into the seat next to her. She jumped, and let out a yelp that made her blush as she took in the intruder to her thoughts.

"Sorry!" The bride apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you, Serena."

Misty's face was a little pink, and her makeup was clearly fresh. She must've just come from cleaning off the frosting. Serena scanned the room quickly, but there was no sign of Ash.

"Uh, yeah. I-it's nice to…finally meet you." she smiled, unable again to help it as Misty let out a laugh.

"It's so weird, isn't it, meeting people that you feel like you should've already known?" Misty said. "I swear, it's just something about him." she gestured vaguely in the direction of the bathrooms, but Serena knew exactly what she meant. Ash brought people together. Even if they'd never met, just by knowing Ash, they all had this connection that felt like they were all meant to be friends too.

No matter how much they didn't want to be.

Misty must've noticed the shift in Serena's mood, because she bit her lip, and looked awkward, before taking a shaky breath.

"Look." she began, and Serena did. She was pretty sure she'd never seen someone look more uncomfortable in her life. Misty squared her shoulders, and tried her best to turn toward her, despite the restrictions of her dress.

"I need to thank you." she said. Serena blinked at her.

"You…what?" she asked. Misty looked around, making sure no one was paying attention to them.

"All of this is because of you. You probably don't want to hear this, and I'm really sorry about that, but I just…I have to." Serena was pretty sure she'd never been more confused.

"What?" she asked again. Misty looked away, clearly stealing herself.

"Ash told me…what you did…to say goodbye in Kalos." She practically whispered, and Serena's face instantly flared bright red.

"Oh!" she squeaked. "Well, I mean, it was just a kiss, a long time ago and…" Misty placed a hand on her shoulder, amusement playing in her eyes. Serena didn't miss the fact that it was her left, her rings glittering even in the dim light. She wondered if that had been on purpose, but she doubted it, as Misty's angle prevented her right hand from doing much of anything. She laughed once.

"Well, yeah, it's not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things." She said. "But, well, that was Ash's first _real_ kiss you know." Though momentarily shocked, Serena settled into a grin.

"Actually, that seems about right." she said. "I'm pretty sure I could have held up a giant poster saying 'I love you' and he'd have just thanked me for being such a great friend."

"So, you know what I mean then," Misty said. "That without you, none of this would have happened?" She looked around the room, and Serena joined in. "You were the one who made him realize that acting on romantic feelings was even a choice." Serena's eyes snapped back to her. She looked awkward again.

"You know…sometimes I wonder…what would've happened if I hadn't been there when he got home that night." she muttered. Serena simply couldn't bring herself to put voice to her thoughts. Ones where she was the one in white.

 _Yeah, me too._

"I just wanted you to know how thankful I am to you, really. And…" she bit her lip again. "To let you know how much I really, truly do love him." Serena was stunned again, but she didn't have much time to think on it as Ash came up behind Misty then, placing his hands on her shoulders, and making her jump.

"Ash! Don't _do_ that!" She scolded, and though she looked honestly annoyed for a second, it quickly melted into amusement and she wacked Ash on the hand.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." he said. He was clean now too, and looking so very happy that Serena couldn't help but smile. "Hope I didn't interrupt." He added, though from the look that the two women shared, Serena was sure they both had heard in his voice that he knew damn good and well that he had.

"Of course not, just, getting to know everyone." Misty said. Ash looked between the two of them, and Serena indulged him with the best smile she could muster. To her great relief he looked satisfied. He bent over so that his head was level with Misty's.

"Well hopefully there will be plenty of time for that later, but for now…Brock said it's time for some other silly tradition." Misty made a face, and Ash laughed.

"If I had known how many stupid traditions were involved in this, I would have taken you up on that whole eloping plan." She said, rising to her feet with Ash's assistance.

"Ah, yes, but then, you'd never have gotten to meet everyone." Ash said with a wink in Serena's direction. Her heart flipped, and she had to stare intensely at the ring that was now on his finger to get it to settle down. Misty sighed.

"Fair point." She turned back to Serena. "It was great meeting you. Really." She smiled at her, and Serena could see her repeated thanks, thanks she wasn't sure she actually wanted, still glittering in her sea colored eyes.

"Bride and Groom! Front and center!" Brock's voice, magnified by a microphone, rang out over the whole room.

"Who gave him that?" Misty hissed. Ash shrugged, then started laughing as Misty began to march toward the stage, dragging him by the hand, leaving Serena alone with her thoughts again.

She hadn't wanted to like Misty. It wasn't like she hadn't had rivals for Ash's affection in the past, and she'd gotten along with them just fine. _Okay_ , one rival, and getting along may have been a strong term, but she had become friends with Miette eventually. But Misty was something different entirely.

Because in truth, Misty wasn't Serena's rival, Serena was Misty's…and somehow there was in fact a difference. And of course there was the fact that Misty had won.

But as Serena had watched them all weekend, mostly from afar, she had realized that it hadn't really ever been a contest. Misty had won long before Serena had even become a player. Which was of course why Serena's finishing move had been _Misty's_ winning blow. She had watched how Ash had truly seemed so content this whole weekend. She had watched him tease and be teased. Had watched him pout and snap out insults and laugh probably more than she ever had in the entire year they had travelled together. She hadn't known Ash could be so snarky, nor had she known he could be so argumentative.

She had watched in horror as Ash and Misty had faced off in Delia's back yard, nose to nose and hands on hips, shouting "Is not!" and "Is too" in quick succession, only to have a whole different form of horror wash over her as the argument devolved into a kiss that they clearly thought no one else could see.

She'd seen how Pikachu had spent more time on Misty's shoulder than Ash's during the rehearsal dinner as Ash was constantly greeting old friends. She'd seen how casually Ash had touched her, grabbing her hand, resting his own hand on her shoulder, leaning in to her to point things out.

She'd seen how his eyes would light up every time she came into a room. She'd seen the way they always shot each other little conspiratorial glances, like they were having conversations that no one else could hear.

She'd seen how they made each other _whole._

Maybe it was time she found her own Misty.


End file.
